Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Glass Window Bridge

Continuing on our journey of paradise exploration, I give you:

"OUR Bahamas, Part 5:

Glass Window Bridge"

Just a few miles north of where we stay near Gregory Town is the Glass Window Bridge. It is the narrowest part of the island of Eleuthera. It is so narrow that the road reduces to only one lane, with southbound traffic having the right of way (oh, and they drive on the left side of the road. Very confusing).

The bridge is man-made and connects Upper and Lower Bogue. On the east side of the bridge is the Atlantic Ocean, on the west side the Caribbean Sea.

The Atlantic Ocean on the east side is not blocked by reefs and is very deep so the waves come in pounding, booming, and looming from uninhibited ocean swells. On a good day, or bad depending on how you see it and if you surf, the waves can be so high that they crash up and over the Glass Window Bridge. When the seas are calm, the sea level is 30 feet lower than the bridge. Given tropical storm winds, the waves have been known to knock cars off of the bridge, and even knock the whole bridge down!

The Atlantic side is wild, dark, and at least to me, spooky as hell.

The waters on the Caribbean side, however, are protected by the island from high, or scary, surf. On a windy day, the Atlantic can be churning and booming, crashing and smashing it's waves onto the rocky shore, while the Caribbean side is as calm as a sheet of glass.